Gaming18.03.2021

Sony is giving away Horizon Zero Dawn and nine PlayStation games for free

By Chris Venter

Sony recently announced that PlayStation owners will have a chance to grab new free games as part of its Play at Home program.

The initiative – which started in April 2020 – initially featured give-aways of games like Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and Journey.

This year, the Play at Home program is headlining with Horizon Zero Dawn, which includes the Frozen Wilds Expansion.

Additionally, the Complete Edition will be available for download between 19 April and 14 May.

In addition, beginning 25 March, Sony will release a slew of indie games, which include Abzû, Enter the Gundgeon, Rez Infinite, Subnautica, The Witness, Astro Bot Rescue Mission, Moss, Thumper, and Paper Beast.

These will be available for download until 22 April. Notably, four of the nine titles include VR support.

Sony said these games have been well-received by independent creators, which denotes to the Play at Home program’s original purpose of aiding indie developers.

In the meanwhile, there is still time to get this year’s first Play at Home title Rachet and Clank, which is available for download until 31 March.

Fierce competition

The release of these free titles come at a time when Sony is under increased pressure from Microsoft’s high-value Xbox Game Pass – a subscription service for Xbox and PC users.

Dubbed “Netflix for gamers,” the Xbox Game Pass is a R99 monthly fee that grants you access to a wide range of games.

Incorporated in the subscription fee is an Xbox Live Gold membership, and hundreds of games offered on Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass for PC.

These include popular titles from Bethesda Softworks, which Microsoft recently acquired.

The company has also implied that future popular Bethesda titles – like the Elder Scrolls VI and Starfield – may be Xbox Game Pass exclusives.

Combined with the affordable pricing of its subscription, Game Pass has been viewed as a game-changer in the console war, particularly because Sony has no comparable rival service and has been relying heavily on exclusives to drive gamers towards its consoles.

Below are the nine games released by Sony PlayStation as part of the Play at Home program.